JOE BUGNER was an ancient idol when he separated James ‘Bonecrusher’ Smith’s shoulder with a jolting right cross one afternoon on the Gold Coast of Australia.
It was 1998 and Aussie Joe was finally a world heavyweight champion, and he wore that World Boxing Federation belt with pride. This is all true, by the way. His only other heavyweight title fight had been in 1975 when he lost over 15 rounds to Muhammad Ali. I love Bugner, but it is hard to keep a straight face when talking about his fight with Bonecrusher. Please, go watch his short-lived Earnie Shavers shootout or the brawl with Joe Frazier in London.